PURPOSE: Every year on 25 March, the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade offers the opportunity to honor and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the brutal slavery system. The International Day also aims to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice today. The racist legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade reverberates today in harmful prejudices and beliefs which are still being perpetuated and continue to impact people of African descent across the world. Transformative education, which seeks to empower learners to see the social world critically and through an ethical lens to challenge and change the status quo as agents of change is essential to the work of teaching and learning about slavery in order to end racism and injustice and to build inclusive societies based on dignity and human rights for all people, everywhere.

FORUM: "Acknowledge the past. Repair the present. Build a future of dignity and justice." International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade 2025. The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was one of the most horrific crimes in human history, brutally dehumanizing more than 15 million men, women and children over 400 years. It robbed individuals of their lives and liberty, and in the centuries that followed, systems of exclusion and discrimination stripped communities of their ability to thrive and prosper. The fallacy of white supremacy was justified by – and entrenched in – institutions, cultures, and legal systems. Acknowledging the painful legacy of the trade in enslaved Africans is essential to repairing these broken systems. Born out of past harms and crimes against humanity, systemic racism and structural injustices must be transformed to heal the wounds of enslavement and build a future of dignity and justice for Afro-descendant communities across the globe. The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans represents one of the most horrific and traumatizing eras in human history. This racialized system of enslavement abducted, trafficked, and brutally dehumanized Africans and their descendants over centuries, leaving a pernicious legacy of racism grounded in the false narrative of white supremacy. A critical way to counter racism with justice is to acknowledge the fundamental dignity, equality, and rights of people of African descent within communities, institutions, policies, laws and governing bodies. Recognizing the egregious history and legacies of enslavement, let’s continue enhance efforts to address racism, intolerance, bigotry and hatred, to advance the cause of global freedom. Follow the conversation with the hashtags #Rememberslavery!

EVENTS: On March 25th, we will commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2025;The commemoration is a time for reflection. This year marks the 218th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and the 24th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA). It’s a time to reflect on a shameful era. On a brutal system of human trafficking which was built on the myth of white supremacy. Today we remember those who suffered and resisted oppression and we honor them by fighting for equality and justice.

PLENARY MEETING: At UNHQ, On Tuesday, 25 March 2025 at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the General Assembly will convene its annual plenary meeting to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Speakers will include the President of the 79th Session of the General Assembly, His Excellency Philemon Yang; the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres; keynote speaker and Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature Mr. Wole Soyinka; youth speaker and former United States Youth Poet Laureate Ms. Salome Agbaroji; and representatives of Member States and regional groups. Watch live or on demand on UN WebTV. See the 2025 Calendar of Events.

EXHIBIT: From 7 March to 25 April 2025. “The Stories of Us” Sculpture Exhibition at United Nations Headquarters.

The United Nations Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery, in collaboration with the Stories of Us arts, a non-profit organization, are displaying a sculpture exhibition featuring artists from across the African diaspora. It features five large-scale “talking drums” by the artists Alanis Forde, Francks Deceus, Láolú, Leasho Johnson, and Marryam Moma. The exhibition honours the resistance of enslaved Africans and the powerful voices of their descendants, whose leadership and cultural innovations enrich our societies today. The sculpture exhibition runs in the United Nations Visitors’ Lobby through 11 April and then moves to the United Nations Visitors Plaza, where it will serve as the backdrop for the many dynamic music, dance; Link to highlights video.

From 14-17 April, 2025, at the “Palais des Nations’’ in Geneva, Switzerland ,a series of high-level events are scheduled to observe the annual Permanent Forum for People of African Descent. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced that the fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent will take place. All stakeholders advancing the rights of people of African descent are welcome to participate in the sessions of the Permanent Forum. Member States, United Nations specialized agencies and bodies, national human rights institutions, equality bodies, civil society representatives, and organizations of people of African descent are especially invited to attend and contribute to the discussions. Get the Concept note (English | Français | Español | Português), the Provisional agenda, the Programme of work (draft)and the Modalities of participation (English | Français | Español | Português); All interested participants are required to register by 11:59 PM (Central European Time) on Friday 4 April 2025. Register to participate!

PUBLICATIONS: The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist organization that played a crucial role in spreading abolitionism in the North before the Civil War. In December 1833, delegates from state and local abolition societies gathered in Philadelphia to found an agency to promote a national approach to ending slavery. William Lloyd Garrison, Theodore D. Weld, and the Tappan brothers, Lewis and Arthur, were among the leading figures in this venture. Central to its mission was the doctrine of "immediate emancipation," as opposed to the gradualism espoused by some anti-slavery societies. Looking to spread its ideas across the nation, the society subsidized the printing and distribution of abolitionist tracts, pamphlets, and broadsides, and created a network of agents to carry the message throughout the United States. Read the full publication!

Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery. A fresh, original look at George Washington as an innovative land manager whose singular passion for farming would unexpectedly lead him to reject slavery. Get the book!

Slavery at the Home of George Washington. This highly-readable selection of articles focuses on Washington's changing attitudes toward the institution of slavery, and his everyday relationships with the slaves who shared his Mount Vernon estate. Get the book!

Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington's Mount Vernon. At the time of George Washington's death in 1799, more than 300 enslaved men, women, and children lived on his Mount Vernon plantation. Lives Bound Together provides fresh research on this important topic. Read the book!

The Quanders - Since 1684, an Enduring African American Legacy. The Quanders – Since 1684: An Enduring African America Legacy introduces stories that constitute the Quander family legacy as one of the oldest consistently documented African American families in the United States. Read the book!

STATEMENTS: Listen the full Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General, on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade 2025. March 25th.

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Educating on the transatlantic slave trade and its legacies, including racism.